By Al Benson
A Holocaust hero came alive at Church of the Good Shepherd United Methodist in Oswego September 6.
Celebrating United Women in Faith Sunday, the church women’s group sponsored a dramatic, first-person monologue at 8:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. worship services. Performance artist and public speaker Gaye Haas of Aurora presented “A Visit with Corrie,” the story of Cornelia “Corrie” ten Boom (1892-1983). A Dutch Christian Holocaust survivor, she aided many Jews to escape the Nazis during WWII.
Hass substituted for Pastor Steve Good who was running a marathon. Sharlene Momich, vice president of Good Shepherd’s Women in Faith unit, served as worship leader. Kim Mattern was a liturgist. Haas greeted congregants in a receiving line after the service.
Haas’ portrayal of ten Boom chronicled her early life in Haarlem, Holland, her family’s work with the Dutch Resistance hiding Jewish people and her imprisonment in the Ravensbrück concentration camp. The family built a secret room in their watch shop home to hide hundreds of Jewish refugees and underground workers from the Nazis. After being betrayed in 1944, the family was arrested and sent to German concentration camps, where Corrie’s father and sister Betsie passed away.
The performance centered heavily on Corrie’s real-life post-war message of survival, profound faith and love for all, even German Nazis. Hass said ten Boom recalled “It was under the oval (family) table where I grasped the power of love and forgiveness.”
Haas grew up in Gary, Indiana, and formed a deep fascination with ten Boom after watching the 1975 film adaptation of “The Hiding Place,” an autobiographical book written by ten Boom with John and Elizabeth Sherrill. It was published in 1971.
Alongside her husband Dan, Haas runs Stories Come Alive, an interactive ministry utilizing costumes, historical portrayals and object lessons for community, church and school events.